My first day out was last Thursday the 10th at the Northgate site. I hadn't been there long when a young woman assaulted us. She kicked our signs out into the street, tried to grab a sign out of my hand, and yelled that we weren't helping anybody. She claimed that she was poor and needed the birth control that Planned Parenthood provided.
Our shift leader tried to calm her down and talk some sense into her but it was clear she didn't want to listen and eventually stormed off. The look on her face was one of sadness and fear.

If this had been Planned Parenthood property that had been destroyed you can bet that the police would have been notified.

My second day out was on Friday the 11th at the Everett site. That was a much better experience. We met a young woman who decided to not go through with her scheduled abortion. What a joy to meet face to face with someone for whom you've been praying.

Sadly, it was a very active day at the Everett Planned Parenthood; the parking lot was packed, one deathscort roamed the front of the building for most of the morning, and the atmosphere seemed especially oppressive and disturbed.

There was a mom with a brand new Toyota Sienna van with Bellevue dealership plates still on the back. She was there with her daughter who looked very young. The mom snarled at me when I asked if she'd like a brochure.

One strange couple pulled up in a white van, which they parked on the street. The woman was Asian and wearing a green poncho and was led into PP by a man wearing a huge gold crucifix. He, however, stayed at least 100 yards in front of her. She seemed to be in a daze and didn't want to talk or take a brochure. I don't think she spoke English.

A while later an Asian couple pulled in to the parking lot. The man, possibly the husband of the woman driving, got out and went into PP. A little while later a diminutive woman with a badge got out of the car and went in the PP. I asked her if she was the translator. She said yes. After that both of the men came out together like they knew each other.

As the abortion industry gets more and more desperate and frantic over the fact that their empire is crumbling we can expect those who still cling to their mantras and way of life to panic. Who knows to what means they will resort in order to keep things afloat. Those of us out on the front lines need to be careful and watchful at all times. And keep praying.

...I would now like to say a special word to women who have had an abortion...[many people are] aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and [do] not doubt that in many cases it was a painful and even shattering decision. The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly what happened was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. Try rather to understand what happened and face it honestly. If you have not already done so, give yourselves over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you his forgiveness and his peace ... You will come to understand that nothing is definitively lost and you will also be able to ask forgiveness from your child...With the friendly and expert help and advice of other people, and as a result of your own painful experience, you can be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone's right to life. Through your commitment to life, whether by accepting the birth of other children or by welcoming and caring for those most in need of someone to be close to them, you will become promoters of a new way of looking at human life. -- Pope John Paul II